The Nine Painters of the 2024 Apsley Studio Tour

By Carolyn Jongeward

The 2024 Apsley Autumn Studio Tour—coming up on the third weekend of September—will showcase the work of 30 participating artists in 11 locations throughout the Apsley area. The scope of artistic creation has attracted tour-goers for over 30 years. Visitors meet and chat with the artists and discover exciting work in a wide range of materials and processes: ceramics, fibre art, glass art, jewelry, mosaics, metalwork, painting, printmaking, pyrography, woodwork.

This article highlights the work of nine artists who will be showing their paintings during this year’s Apsley Studio Tour, each reflecting a unique artistic approach for expressing their inspiration and passion: Mary Ellen Gerster, Andrew Gregg, David Grieve, Carolyn Jongeward, Barbara Miszkiel, Molly Moldovan, Arne Roosman, Brenda Rudder, David Smith. Here’s a glimpse into the creative life of these painters.

Mary Ellen Gerster loves the lively colour, fluidity, and transparency of watercolour for expressing her unique style of painting on paper. Through layering transparent colours, she creates photorealism in waterscapes and still life paintings of fruit and flowers. The layering of glazes of transparent colours transmits light, allowing for high contrast and bright colour. Working with fine brushes or large wash brushes, she can create finely detailed work or loose and fluid reflections and shadows. Mary Ellen lives and works in Lindsay, Ontario.

For Andrew Gregg, landscape painting or drawing deepens his appreciation of everything he sees in his environment. He feels a part of the endless rock, water, and forest of the Canadian Shield. He loves working with ink: which, when diluted, is atmospheric or, undiluted, provides endless possibilities for drawing, particularly when using twigs and experimental implements. His childhood was in rural Australia, and since retirement he lives six months in Melbourne and six months at Rathbun Lake in Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park.

David Grieve has been painting since childhood and has developed a distinctive style for creating images inspired by the Ontario landscape. He achieves unique effects by using a trowel or other unique tools to apply thick swaths of oil paint on canvas. Sometimes he’ll remove large sections of oil paint before it dries, resulting in unpredictable textures and also a hint of what was there before. David lives in Brantford, Ontario, and spends summers at the cottage on Jack Lake, where his paintings are inspired by the landscape, especially during early morning canoeing.

Carolyn Jongeward’s abstract art reflects an intuitive approach to painting, and her love of colour, form and pattern in nature. Some paintings are gestural expressions of vibrant colour, others convey intricate geometric patterns. She’s drawn by the scope of colour mixing, transparency and mark-making possible with acrylics. Her longtime work as tapestry weaver is evident in her paintings: some have a textile-like surface, others involve a woven structure. A lifelong cottager at Chandos Lake, she now lives and works there year round.

Barbara (Basia) Miszkiel experiences painting as a conversation on canvas. She loves the flexibility of acrylics and is inspired to convey the beauty of rural Ontario, including the range of texture and colour in landscapes and old buildings. In her landscapes she uses a range of brushstrokes and palette knife techniques to evoke texture and a sense of time. She also paints live subjects and tries to capture their uniqueness. Formerly an architect with an national and international career, Barbara lives in Toronto and at the cottage in North Kawartha.

For Molly Moldovan, the foundation of every painting is the landscape: the lake, forest and uninterrupted skyscape. Her inspiration from natural phenomena includes fall colours, northern lights, a colourful sunset, lunar eclipse, thunderstorm or a certain quality of light. Her approach is imaginative abstraction—near-landscapes and weather-scapes—driven by the tumultuous politics of our time. She has lived and worked in North Kawartha since graduating from OCA(D) with honours in fine art drawing and painting.

As Arne Roosman says, his parents were accomplished artists, so he grew up with a paintbrush in hand. During travels, especially to Sweden, Italy and Estonia, Arne captured his impressions in sketchbooks, as inspiration for later paintings on canvas. His art is also about what he observes in his own backyard—the seasons and wildlife. After painting with oils for many years, he now primarily uses acrylics. He chooses the highest quality materials available for his pens, charcoal sticks, watercolour pens and paints, brushes, paper and canvas. Arne lives in Apsley, Ontario.

Since childhood, Brenda Rudder has been drawing and painting animals. Her early years vacationing at Jack Lake ignited her love for nature and wildlife. She’s now a pet and wildlife artist, specializing in creating artwork on natural wood. She uses acrylics on reclaimed wood. Each piece of wood—already a work of art by nature—provides inspiration and the perfect canvas to express her love of nature. Her pieces are rich in detail and vibrant colour, revealing her passion for the beautiful colours and textures of the natural world.

For David Smith, the rhythm, colour and quality of light in the landscape has always been a source of inspiration for his work. He creates paintings in watercolour, acrylic or oil, appreciating the variety of expression he can achieve with different materials: washes and gradations with watercolour; graphic and colour qualities with acrylic; texture and colour blending with oil. Following a career in advertising, graphic design and colour retouching, he applies this knowledge to painting and printmaking. David lives in Apsley, Ontario.

The 2024 Apsley Studio Tour takes place on Saturday and Sunday, September 21 and 22, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.. For more information on the tour, the artists, a downloadable map and the link to our handy Toureka app, please visit the app page on our website.